Automobile signal control switch



Feb. 26. 1924; 1,485,294 J. J. RICE, JR

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL CONTROL SWITCH Filed March 1, 1922 a. 71 .5 htQM/% w; I anew;

so from the fol Patented Feb. 26, 1924.

JOSEPH J. RICE, JR, '0? FBACKVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL CONTROL SWITCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH J. RICE, J12, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Frackville, in the county of Schuyl- I kill and State of Pennsylvania, have 1nvented new and useful Improvements in an Automobile Signal Control Switch, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an electric signal control switch for motor vehicles.

The principal object of the invention is to rovlde an electric signal control switch yvhlch will be operated to operate signals to indicate ri ht and left upon turning of the steering w eel and also operate a signal indicating stop upon actuating the gasoline control lever to cut off the gasoline supplyto the en ine.

A furt er object of the invention is to provide a novel switch which is associated with the steering gear and automobile control levers in such a manner as to actuate the desired signals upon actuation of the steering gear or control levers and thereby as indicate to the traflic the operation the driver of the motor vehicle is about to perform.

With the preceding and other objects 'and advantages that may become apparent owing descriptiomthe invention consists in the novel combination of elements, constructions and arrangement of parts and operations to be hereinafter specifically referred to, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,

. wherein- Figure 1 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in cross section of an automobile steering gear control mechanism embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 22, of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatical view of the switch in circuit with a signal mechanism.

Referring in detail to the drawing wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views the numeral 5 designates a motor vehicle si nal mechanism having signals to indicate left right and stop. This signal mechanism does not constitute any part of the present invention but is merely shown to illustrate the manner in which the invention is employed.

II The numeral 10 designates the, usual steering column of an automobile nails 11 '22 is in circuit with the stop signal.

Application filed larch 1 1922. Serial No. 540,345.

desi nates the steering post. The usual spar and gasoline control rods are designated at 13 and 13 respectively and include the laterally extending operating handles 14.

Mounted on the steering post 11 and housed within the column 10 is an electricity conducting collar 15 insulated from the steerin post by fibre or other insulation 16. A so mounted upon the spark and gasoline control rods are relatively small electricity conducting collars 17, the latter upon rotation of the steering post one of the contacts 21 will engage its res tive collar 17 as shown by dotted lines 1n Fig. 2 to close an electric circuit to the signal 5.

Fixed to the gasoline control rod 13 andv dis osed below the collars, 17 is a similar .col ar 22 also insulated (not shown) from the rod 13 and fixed to this collar '22 is a resilient contact 23 adapted to engage the collar 15 upon operation of the control handle 14 of the rod 13 to cut off the grass line supply to the engine and close an electric circuit to the signal 5 to operate the stop si nal.

s own diagrammatically in Fig; 3 the signals indicating right and 'left are in circuitlwith the collars 17 while the collar It will thus be obvious that upon rotation of the steering 0st 11 tothe right the circuit will be close to operate the signal indicating right andreversely upon rotatin the steering post to the left the signal in icating left will be operated. It also follows upon operating the gasoline control rod 13 to cut off thegasoline supply to the engine the contact'23 will engage the collar 15 to close the circuit through the stop signal to operate the latter.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shalie, e

size and arrangement of parts may resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the t0 and insulated from said steering post, 10 subjoined claim. 7 spring contactvmembers attached to said Having thus described my invention, collar, other collars attached to and inwhat I claim as new and desireto secure sulated from the control rods, said latter 5 and protect by Letters Patent of the United named collars adapted to contact with the States is: spring contact members thereby closing an 15 An automobile signal control switch comelectric circuit to operete a signal.

prising a steering column, a steering post and control rods therein, a collar attached JOSEPH J. RICE, JR. 

